FESA reports increase in twitter followers

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority is urging people to sign up to its twitter account to track natural disasters after recording a spike in followers during cyclone Lua.

As Cyclone Lua approached the Pilbara coast recently, FESA noticed a spike in twitter followers with people seeking the latest cyclone information.

FESA now has about 2,000 followers and that is boosted whenever there is a fire or cyclone.

The authority is encouraging tweeters to sign up for information on fire warnings and total fire bans.

Spokesman Allen Gale says it is a good way to reach a younger target market.

"Every time there is an incident that occurs we do notice that bit of a spike and we would certainly encourage anybody that uses twitter to sign up prior to an incident occurring because they can get direct access to a FESA feed and get the latest information," he said.

"I guess it's quite marketable to the younger generation and certainly the early adopters of new technologies as well."

Mr Gale points out that twitter is only one avenue of information and it still needs some tweaking.

"We use it for pushing out important emergency information - there can be little delays in there but the important thing is that it comes out in a fairly clear format and if that's the way people like to receive their information, then it's one way to do it," he said.

Mr Gale says there is up to a 20 minute delay on information release.

He says while social media is valuable, it should be used with other sources.